India-Pakistan partition was the biggest and the most saddening event in history. It claimed lots of lives and was considered to be very unfortunate. Even now, we get goosebumps when we talk about it. All Indian leaders including Gandhiji were against this partition. However, since there were protests and violence from Muslim league, partition couldn’t be avoided. Pakistan became a new country on the basis of religion, while India remained secular.
Given below are some unknown facts about 1947 partition.
1. Partition happened owing to violence and dissatisfaction displayed by Muslim League. Yes, they were of the opinion that there should be a separate country for Muslims. Although many were against it, this partition did happen.
2. Want to know why India’s Independence Day is 15th of August and that of Pakistan is 14th of August? Well, it was because of Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. He expressed the desire of attending Independence day ceremony of both the nations. Hence, different days!
3. 1947 partition was considered to be the largest migration in history. Around 2 crore people shifted.
4. Do you know what all Pakistan got after the partition? Well, they got 40 percent of Indian Railway lines and not only this, they even got 2/6 metropolitan cities and 1/3rd Indian Army.
5. Law Lord and British Lawyer Cyril John Radcliffe was asked to set a boundary line for India and Pakistan and was given 5 weeks to do so. Since he had no idea about India’s geography, he did it on the basis of religions, castes and maps. He made many mistakes and this led to bloodshed and chaos.
6. After partition, there was a huge riot. It’s said to be the biggest in world history as it claimed over 10 lakh lives.
7. Gandhiji was in Calcutta and not Delhi on the day of partition. He worked with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and confronted rioters. He also prayed a lot so that communal killing could be stopped.
8. Although India got independence on 15th of August and Pakistan got independence on 14th of August, the border was announced only on 17th of August.
9. Astrologers were also consulted for deciding on an auspicious date for this partition. Since they couldn’t come up with one, 15th August was decided.
10. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan believed that they should have this state because it has majority of Muslims. However, Hindu Maharaja chose India in October 1947. Since then, there have been many political conflicts.
Did you know all this?
